Today is reveal day for Secret Recipe Club – the food blogger club where every month we secretly cook something up from a fellow food blogger’s website and share our results with our readers. This month we were assigned the food blog Ilona’s Kitchen, hosted by a fellow NJ food blogger! That’s one more NJ food blogger we’ve now “met” in addition to Melissa over at I Was Born To Cook – seriously now, I think it’s about time we host a NJ food blogger get together and round up all the local bloggers for a pot luck gathering!

Someday perhaps – when I get a little more free time to coordinate that

Anyway, Ilona is in a similar boat as us. Besides being from NJ, she is a busy parent trying to get a tasty home cooked meal on the table while juggling children and their many demands and requirements (but how we love them anyway!). If you are looking for inspiration to get a tasty, home cooked meal on your table (and who isn’t?) be sure to head on over and check Ilona’s site out.

When we were going through Ilona’s recipes we immediately found what we wanted to make – these Hoisin Sloppy Joes. I know, maybe not the first thing that might pop out to you. But if you’ve cooked with hoisin sauce before you would understand. It’s an Asian sauce that adds a sweet but soy saucy flavor to a dish, with a texture like BBQ sauce. Indeed, I would go so far as to say hoisin sauce is Asian BBQ sauce.

We’ve made a sesame ginger turkey meatball (10 minute chinese) dish and a braised country style pork rib recipe with hoisin sauce as the key ingredient. We knew Ilona would not let us down with a sloppy joe recipe using the sauce (and a bit of fresh lime juice!). We were not disappointed! These sloppy joes are similar to regular sloppy joes, but the hoisin sauce adds some sweetness and a little Asian flavor for a nice change to the traditional joes.

These sloppy joes are great with a little shredded cheddar cheese on a soft bun or roll. We served ours with french fries and corn on the cob. A great dinner -we’ll be making these again.

So what’s new to report here… Well, the baby is now 7 months old (and the first baby is now 2 years old – wowzers). He’s such a mellow and chill kid compared to his older brother, though he certainly isn’t a pushover and will let you know when he wants something (usually his Mommy – hahah).

It’s finally consistently warm out at the end of the day, so after I get home from work and we have dinner we all go outside for a walk. Toddler Boy currently enjoys picking up big sticks, tucking them under his arm, and playing “leaf blower” complete with sound effects. The little one meanwhile enjoys being held facing outwards and “chasing” his older brother down the little path at the park – he squeals and giggles as we try to catch the big guy.

Time just seems to go exponentially faster and these little moments with them seem go by far too fast. All the more reason to dedicate my time to them when I have it, to soak it all in and absorb it, and to be thankful for that time I have with them.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and spray with non stick spray. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spatula, until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, ginger, and cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the turkey and cook, stirring constantly and breaking it up into small pieces, until it no longer looks raw, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce, salt, and hoisin sauce, increase the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring often, until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice, adding more lime juice to taste. Serve on rolls or hamburger buns.

11 Comments

I’m normally not the biggest fan of sloppy joes, because they’re just *too* sloppy for my tastes, but I could totally see this recipe changing my mind since I love me some hoisin sauce. (Honest – I’d eat my shoe as long as it was generously slathered with the stuff.) I’d probably throw in a few squirts of sriracha for spice, but otherwise it sounds totally perfect for a quick weeknight dinner!